WEB CAST.
It took 17 tries but Garner finally completed their mission as the Trojans downed the St. Raymon Ravens out of the Bronx, New York 75-63 to win the American Airlines bracket of the 40th annual HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational.
Garner (10-1) controlled the tempo of the opening quarter as Dominique Reed scored all eight of his first half points in the opening quarter while Gavin Wilson scored nine first quarter points to give the Trojans a 22-18 lead after one quarter.
St. Raymond (9-3) who was rated as the second best team int eh state of New York trailed by as many as 12 points in the second quarter but began to come back as Nkereuwem Okoro scored nine points in the second quarter to make it a 39-31 Trojan lead at the break.
The third quarter belonged to the Ravens as they clawed back from the deficit but Cameron Redd kept the Trojans ahead with six points in the third to give Garner a 50-47 lead heading into the final quarter.
With the Championship on the line, the Trojans held their ground and began to pull away thanks to Reed who scored all 12 of his second half points in the final stanza as he finished with 20 points and helped the Trojans begin to pull away.
Late in the game, Garner was able to hit their foul shots to take home the 75-63 victory and become the first public school to win an eight team bracket in the Holiday Invitational since 1989.
Demarcus Sanford and Gavin Wilson were both named to the all-tournament team while Reed was selected as the Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Garner will return home to Trojan Coliseum on Tuesday night at 8:00 when they host West Johnston.
Trojans claim Holiday Invitational Championship
